THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH; Bishops Enter Health Battle With a Warning on Abortion

By PETER STEINFELS

Published: July 13, 1994

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops have warned the leaders of Congress that they are mobilizing millions of members of their church against any health care plan that requires all insurers to cover abortion as part of a standard package of benefits.

In a letter to Congressional leaders this week, the bishops affirmed their support for changing the health system to achieve universal coverage. But they promised "vigorous opposition" to any health plan that includes a requirement of abortion coverage.

The bishops have stated this position repeatedly over the past two years. Now they have watched with consternation as four Congressional committees have passed varying health bills in recent weeks, each with a requirement for abortion coverage.

"We haven't been listened to," said Helen Alvare, a spokeswoman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It was our hope that by now we would have been able to impress on members of Congress the dramatic violation of our conscience that inclusion of abortion would be."

Currently most private health plans include coverage of abortions, but purchasers have the choice of buying insurance that does not include it.

Requiring such coverage in a uniform national benefits package "will force millions of employers, churches and individuals to subsidize abortion in violation of their consciences," the bishops' letter said, and "will jeopardize the future of Catholic and other religious providers of health care."

The letter, sent to 30 leaders of Congress, was signed by Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore, president of the bishops conference; Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles, chairman of the conference's Pro-Life Committee, and Bishop John R. Ricard of Baltimore, chairman of the conference's Domestic Policy Committee.

Church officials around the country are now beginning a stepped-up effort to press their opposition home in personal visits to political leaders and to mobilize Catholics in parishes, in church organizations and throughout the extensive Catholic hospital system.

Church officials say they hope that as Congressional leaders and the White House shape final health legislation in the coming weeks it will become apparent that the political costs of including abortion services outweigh the benefits.

In effect, the Catholic leaders are offering a carrot and a stick. They have pledged their strong support for a major overhaul of health care that includes universal coverage, so long as it excludes abortion services. But they have also made clear that a plan that includes abortion coverage will face organized opposition from Catholic leaders and groups around the country. A Battle Shapes Up

The abortion issue is one of the biggest concerns of the Democratic strategists trying to piece together a majority for a health care bill. Their fear is that coming down on either side of the issue will cost votes. With Democratic leaders increasingly aware of how narrow a margin they may be working with to pass a health care bill, the hunt for some kind of compromise will be intense.

Abortion rights advocates, who note that most Americans already have abortion services covered in private insurance plans, have vowed to fight any effort to remove abortion from any new standard-benefits package.

"While everyone respects the dictates of individual conscience, we strongly oppose the bishops' plan to impose their views on women's reproductive health on society as a whole," said James Wagoner, executive vice president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

The bishops will announce their intensified campaign at a news conference scheduled to be held today in Washington. They will also distribute the results of a national poll they commissioned that they say buttresses their political strategy. The survey, they say, shows widespread support for universal health care coverage but also demonstrates that this support plummets when abortion services are included among the required benefits.

The bishops' position of support for universal coverage as well as strong opposition to including abortion services distinguishes them from some conservative Christian groups, which oppose not only abortion but also virtually any major health care changes. Vast Mobilization

The bishops' stance is also central to their hope for mobilizing Catholics well beyond the usual circles of fervent abortion opponents and instead including Catholic doctors and nurses, for instance, and church members working with low-income and minority populations.

"We have Catholic Charities, the pro-life office, the social justice oups and the health care providers all working together," said the Rev. Michael D. Place, a consultant to Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago.

"Each group has its own constituency, its own legislative liaisons and grass-roots networks," he said. "We are using all of our networks to get across the same message: a consistent ethic of life requires universal coverage and the exclusion of abortion."